Deputy officer commanding for No 5 district, Superintendent John Kelebeng, says rape and defilement cases are a concern in his jurisdiction.

Superintendent Kelebeng’s concern followed four cases of rape in his policing area recently.

In one of the cases, a 24-year-old man allegedly raped a 25-year-old woman and committed suicide thereafter at Chanoga on May 15.

The two were said to have been riding on separate donkeys from the lands to Chanoga and it was reported that the man alighted from the donkey’s back pulled the woman down from her donkey and raped her.

In another incident, Maun police were looking for a suspect who allegedly raped his 40-year-old ex-girlfriend in Moeti ward on May 14.

He said the man, whose age is unknown, waited for his ex-girlfriend who operates a tuck shop to close at night and allegedly raped her on the way in the bush and left her there.

In a similar incident, the police were also investigating another incident, which happened in Toteng, where a 27-year-old man raped his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend.

The two met on the way where upon the man demanded that the woman should go and hand over his clothes from her house and in the process the man dragged the woman to the bush and raped her.

In another incident, Supt Kelebeng said a 25-year-old man of Shashe was accused of rapedefilement in conjunction with a 15-year-old girl who is a student at one of the junior secondary schools in Maun.

The girl left home on May 10 at Thito ward in Maun and was reported missing on May 12 only to be found on May 13 with help of the police at the suspect’s home.

Supt Kelebeng said such cases, which involved young girls were a concern in his area, therefore he implored men to desist from dating young girls and also discouraged young victims from engaging in such relationships and to respect their parents.

Furthermore, he aised women to always keep company at night to guard themselves against rape as the incidents take place at night.

However, he said excess alcohol abuse and drugs could be a contributing factor to the uncalled for behavior.

In an interview, Kgosi Rogers Marumo of Thito ward in Maun said rape cases were a serious concern which requires community leaders and relevant stakeholders to collaborate to fight the predicament and identify the root cause to address it.

He pointed that it was disheartening for youth to involve in criminal cases at a high rate, which led to them being sentenced to jail, leaving their parents behind who expect a better future for them.

Kgosi Marumo also said there is need to demystify the notion of rights to the young people, noting that it seemed the children were not aware of their responsibilities.